We get what we allow.

China Banned it’s Own National Anthem

The war on truth is being fought right before our eyes

I can’t say that the world’s twisted relationship with truth is all because of the former, failed president DJT. Although it does appear he’s allergic to the truth. That’s beside the point of this article.

Truth has always been subjective to people in power, but Donald Trump was the ultimate example of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” You can read the complete folktale here.

The story begins with a vain Emporer who loves new clothes more than he loved his soldiers or his people. Two “swindlers” who claimed to be weavers who could create the most beautiful garments that could only be seen by someone who “is fit to do their job.”

The Emperor, too afraid to admit he couldn’t see the clothes, went along with the weavers and paraded in front of his people without clothes and a small child pointed out that the Emperor had no clothes, telling the truth when no one else would.

We are in 2022, and we’re still dealing with the same broken leadership as stuff from a 150 yr old children’s story, proving what needs to change is our response to the leaders representing us. We get what we allow. There is strength in numbers that we don’t use.

What’s happening in China is exactly what’s happening in the Republican party here in the US and by “conservatives” worldwide. What they say is not what they mean. Without the safeguards of democracy — a free press, legit representation as a born free and equal human being, what you see in China and Russia will soon be everywhere.

According to this article in the Daily Caller;

Censors are actively removing Chinese posts containing the first stanza of “The March of the Volunteers,” which features the lyrics “Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves,” NY Daily News reported.

The article also explains how they’re also censoring the word “April.” The word April — as in the month.

“The virus won’t kill us, but hunger will,” one man in the video is recorded as saying, according to a DCNF translation.

Chinese officials have a “dynamic zero-Covid” objective, it’s the driving force behind these measures.

“We should never underestimate the government's capacity to redefine its narrative to sustain the public support. And we should never underestimate the people’s tolerance, even for policies that harm their interest.”

The Chinese people know that’s not freedom. They know this isn’t being done for their good.

Before it was removed, a censored post from an internet user commenting within the “Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves” thread read: “I don’t want to vent my anger subtly, I don’t want to repost a video that will be immediately deleted … I want to talk about freedom, rights, and sing the praise of what is beautiful, not what other people tell us to sing … If someone asks you to be deeply grateful [for what the government is doing], then fuck them,” according to a Daily Caller News Foundation translation. Link found here.

The power of faith in your government is one of the most impressive things the world has learned about Ukraine. We see people going home to fight for their homeland, people who know they will die, and it is all for the “Glory to Ukraine.”

That’s not because Zelensky is so unique — he is a neat guy, but that isn’t the reason. They know what life is like when owned by Russia. They’d rather die for freedom than feel already dead by being a slave to Putin.

Democracy is powerful —but without us, it will become just a word some people used to talk about and a faint idea that will fade with the rewriting of the history books.

The Ukrainian people have demonstrated to us in real-time what the fight for democracy looks like and if you look at what is happening today in Kherson, you can see the result of what happens when Russia is in control.

Russia didn’t come to conquer and rule — they came to destroy. The Ukrainians expected this and that is why they fought so bravely. They know the future without democracy isn’t a future they want to leave Ukrainian children.

It’s easier to prevent democracy from dying than wait for it to happen and hope enough people agree it’s worth fighting to revive. Democracy needs human hands and feet to stay alive. I hope those of us in democratic countries are watching and paying attention.

The solution seems so simplistically stupid; I almost feel like you’re going to think I’m being a smartass. I’m not. It really is this simple — but it has to be more than just pretty words. Solutions are also useless unless we actually implement them.

Words without action are shit.

What is this simple answer? Truth is the answer. We need to demand truth in our journalism, government, churches, and right down to your kitchen dinner table!

We have to be as militant about truth and handling the repercussions of whatever truth brings — as they are at trying to destroy it.

I know that sounds like a line out of A Few Good Men by Jack Nicholson, “You can’t handle the truth.”

We can’t demand the truth and then cry about not liking the answers. That gives the liars an excuse for lying. We must raise the standard of what we’re willing to accept.

Are we there yet, America? Can we handle the truth?

We must learn from the mistakes of others — Life is too short to make all the mistakes yourself.

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